Reactive CO2capture: A path forward for process integration in carbon management

The integration of carbon dioxide (CO2) capture and conversion processes presents an opportunity to reduce energy and capital costs required to create useful products from dilute CO2streams, such as air or flue gas. In an integrated system, regeneration of the CO2capture media is achieved directly through the conversion of CO2to value-added products, eliminating dedicated CO2desorption and compression steps. We define processes that integrate CO2capture and CO2conversion without going through a purified CO2intermediate stream as “reactive capture.” In this perspective, we propose that the value proposition for reactive capture is the reduction of energy intensity and capital expense in the production of CO2-derived chemicals and materials. We describe the current strategies and the state of technology for reactive capture and provide a roadmap to guide research toward realizing these potential benefits.